Most recent papers:

• Empowering Students With Word‐Learning Strategies: Teach a Child to Fish.
  Michael F. Graves, Steven Schneider, Cathy Ringstaff.
  The Reading Teacher. October 16, 2017
  This article on word‐learning strategies describes a theory‐ and research‐based set of procedures for teaching students to use word‐learning strategies—word parts, context clues, the dictionary, and a combined strategy—to infer the meanings of unknown words. The article begins with a rationale for teaching word‐learning strategies, particularly to students with vocabularies smaller than those of many students their age. After this, the authors provide a definition of word‐learning strategies, a review of the most relevant research, and a brief description of the effects of the program. Next are descriptions of the curriculum, the instruction, and key aspects of the authors’ approach. The article concludes with a note stressing the importance of following initial instruction on word‐learning strategies with reviews, reminders, and prompts to use them over time and a description of two aspects of the program identified as particularly important by the teachers the authors worked with.

  October 16, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1644   open full text
• Improving Meaningful Use of Accommodations by Multilingual Learners.
  Lynn Shafer Willner, Kouider Mokhtari.
  The Reading Teacher. October 13, 2017
  For more than two decades, accommodations have served as the primary strategy for ensuring the valid participation of multilingual learners (MLLs) in high‐stakes summative assessments. Using historical analyses of the evolution of testing accommodation guidelines and related instructional practices, the authors explain how the application of accessibility principles to test development and testing guidelines has reframed accommodations into three categories: accommodations, accessibility features, and administration considerations. The authors then discuss what educators can do to more effectively prepare MLLs by integrating these supports into instruction that targets strategic reading and engagement with text and illustrate how the transfer of paper‐oriented reading strategies to digital texts requires explicit attention to foster effective use of embedded accommodations and accessibility features. The authors also provide sample professional development activities to build educator awareness about ideas for integrating MLL test preparations around accommodations into close reading instruction of digital texts.

  October 13, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1637   open full text
• Learning to Queer Text: Epiphanies From a Family Critical Literacy Practice.
  Nicola A. McClung.
  The Reading Teacher. October 05, 2017
  Critical literacy provides the opportunity to queer picture books and challenge normative depictions of family. In this autoethnography, the author describes her 4‐year‐old's journey of learning to talk back to texts as she actively constructs a better, more just world. The author argues that a critical literacy tool kit is vital to every child's first experiences with books. Implications for classroom teaching are discussed.

  October 05, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1640   open full text
• Learning to Write With Interactive Writing Instruction.
  Cheri Williams.
  The Reading Teacher. October 03, 2017
  Interactive writing is a process‐oriented instructional approach designed to make the composing and encoding processes of writing overt and explicit for young students who are learning to write. It is particularly suitable for students who struggle with literacy learning. This article describes one first‐grade teacher's use of interactive writing to teach her students what it means to write and how they could go about it. The project documents the writing processes, conventions, and strategies that the teacher taught during interactive writing lessons across one academic year and illustrates how the students learned and subsequently used those conceptual tools to mediate their independent writing. Results of the project demonstrate the expediency of interactive writing instruction for supporting the learning‐to‐write process and hold important implications for writing instruction in the early childhood program.

  October 03, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1643   open full text
• The Dangers of Test Preparation: What Students Learn (and Don't Learn) About Reading Comprehension From Test‐Centric Literacy Instruction.
  Dennis S. Davis, Nermin Vehabovic.
  The Reading Teacher. September 27, 2017
  The authors offer guidance on recognizing and resisting test‐centric instruction in reading comprehension. They posit that five practices indicate a test‐centric view of comprehension: when the tested content is privileged, when the test becomes the text, when annotation requirements replace strategic thinking, when test items frame how students think, and when item‐level data are overinterpreted. The authors express concern that test‐centric literacy instruction has started to replace research‐based instructional practices more and more. Using a sociocultural lens, the authors describe what young readers are likely to learn (and not learn) about reading comprehension when they are immersed in this form of instruction. The article provides talking points that teachers can use to bolster their efforts to resist test preparation pressures that they may experience in their schools.

  September 27, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1641   open full text
• Assessing (and Addressing!) Motivation to Read Fiction and Nonfiction.
  Jacquelynn A. Malloy, Allison Ward Parsons, Barbara A. Marinak, Anthony J. Applegate, Mary DeKonty Applegate, D. Ray Reutzel, Seth A. Parsons, Parker C. Fawson, Leslie D. Roberts, Linda B. Gambrell.
  The Reading Teacher. September 25, 2017
  Literacy educators, spurred by curricular standards requiring increased attention to reading nonfiction, are compelled to consider text‐specific reading instruction. As research supports the connection between motivation and reading achievement, these mandates beg the question, Are children equally motivated to read fiction and nonfiction? This article presents fiction and nonfiction versions of the Motivation to Read Profile–Revised that can be used to assess student motivation for these two text types. Recommendations for using student responses to address classwide and individual reading motivation for fiction and nonfiction are also presented.

  September 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1633   open full text
• ¿Cómo Lo Escribo en Inglés o en Español? Writing in Dual‐Language Learners.
  Cristina Gillanders.
  The Reading Teacher. September 25, 2017
  The purpose of this article is to describe the development of writing in young dual language learners, who are children under 5 years old who are learning the dominant language and another language at the same time. Early writing has been associated with literacy outcomes in the later years of elementary school. The article presents samples of different forms of young dual language learners’ writing and ways to interpret them. It also describes strategies for teachers to observe dual language learners’ writing development, create meaningful writing opportunities in the classroom that are based on authentic uses of writing in their homes and communities, and provide scaffolding for students’ learning. Examples are given to illustrate how teachers can promote opportunities to write and encourage the discovery of the specific characteristics of the written system in each language.

  September 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1635   open full text
• A Closer Look at Close Reading: Three Under‐the‐Radar Skills Needed to Comprehend Sentences.
  Heidi Anne Mesmer, M.M. Rose‐McCully.
  The Reading Teacher. September 25, 2017
  Close reading requires students to unpack the implicit relationships within and across sentences. The authors discuss three potential barriers to comprehension embedded within text that they have seen with their own students and with the teachers they have worked with: anaphoric relationships, connectives, and appositives. The authors begin each section with a vignette that provides an example of the problem area and a definition of each, with supporting research. The authors then conclude each section with strategies for teaching anaphora, connectives, and appositives.

  September 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1639   open full text
• Teaching Scientific Metaphors Through Informational Text Read‐Alouds.
  Erica M. Barnes, Alandeom W. Oliveira.
  The Reading Teacher. September 13, 2017
  Elementary students are expected to use various features of informational texts to build knowledge in the content areas. In science informational texts, scientific metaphors are commonly used to make sense of complex and invisible processes. Although elementary students may be familiar with literary metaphors as used in narratives, they may be less familiar with how metaphors function in science. In this article, the authors describe how teaching with scientific metaphor during informational text read‐alouds can help elementary students become more cognizant of scientific metaphoricity and develop scientific literacy. Practical examples from two elementary classrooms are included.

  September 13, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1634   open full text
• Supporting Young Writers With Award‐Winning Books.
  Kathryn Lake MacKay, Paul H. Ricks, Terrell A. Young.
  The Reading Teacher. August 30, 2017
  This article presents a way to use award‐winning books as mentor texts for very young writers. Books were selected as mentor texts from the winners of the Australian Early Childhood Children's Book of the Year Award and the American Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. The authors explain the value of using award‐winning texts in the classroom and describe the respective processes by which the award‐winning books are chosen. Sections of exemplary texts are highlighted to demonstrate how they can be used to show young writers examples of circular text structure, descriptive language, print manipulation, punctuation, and dialogue.

  August 30, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1628   open full text
• Respectful Representations of Disability in Picture Books.
  Ashley E. Pennell, Barbara Wollak, David A. Koppenhaver.
  The Reading Teacher. August 18, 2017
  This article discusses the importance of making available in classrooms a range of children's literature offering authentic and meaningful representations of characters with disabilities. The focus is not only on reading inclusive literature with typically developing students but also on the importance of making inclusive literature available to students who could identify with characters with disabilities. An annotated selection of current books, along with a list of criteria for evaluating children's books for respectful portrayals of disability, is presented to help educators choose inclusive literature that celebrates diverse abilities.

  August 18, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1632   open full text
• How Can Digital Personal(ized) Books Enrich the Language Arts Curriculum?
  Natalia Kucirkova.
  The Reading Teacher. August 17, 2017
  Digital personal(ized) books are a relatively recent addition to the rich repertoire of literacy resources available to pre‐K and elementary school teachers. This article summarizes the key ways in which personal(ized) books can enrich the language arts curriculum, drawing on a series of empirically based examples. The value of personalization in the digital stories is explained theoretically using the framework of five As: autonomy, authorship, authenticity, attachment, and aesthetics. The five As apply to personal(ized) stories created for, or by, young students and are used to generate some practical suggestions for future use of touchscreens in the classroom.

  August 17, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1624   open full text
• Five Steps Toward Successful Culturally Relevant Text Selection and Integration.
  Sue Ann Sharma, Tanya Christ.
  The Reading Teacher. August 14, 2017
  Given the increasing diversity in U.S. schools and the impact of texts that reflect students’ identities and experiences in the world, it has become imperative for teachers to be able to effectively integrate culturally relevant texts. In this article, the authors show how to do this using five steps to guide the process. First, teachers need to recognize the need for culturally responsive instruction. Second, they need to know more about their students’ lives; the authors present three methods for discovering this. Third, teachers need ways to search for culturally relevant texts, such as using multicultural booklists and Google searches to learn more about authors. Fourth, the authors provide a construct for selecting a text that will likely be culturally relevant for a specific student. Fifth, the authors provide an example of critical questions and personal response opportunities for using these texts within instruction.

  August 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1623   open full text
• What the Common Core State Standards Do Not Tell You About Connecting Texts.
  Lisa M. Ciecierski.
  The Reading Teacher. August 02, 2017
  The Common Core State Standards bring the importance of connecting texts to the forefront by sharing that students must be able to “analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches authors take” (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, , p. 10). However, this is not all that is important for teachers to know and think about. This article shares three points to consider when thinking about meeting this standard. These points were concluded after an 18‐week inquiry with elementary school students and are shared by first stating what each point is and then discussing why it might matter. Potentials for curriculum and instruction and final thoughts are presented as a conclusion.

  August 02, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1616   open full text
• Supporting the Literacy Development of Students Who Are Deaf/Hard of Hearing in Inclusive Classrooms.
  Hannah Dostal, Rachael Gabriel, Joan Weir.
  The Reading Teacher. July 26, 2017
  Students who are deaf or hard of hearing present unique opportunities and challenges for literacy instruction in mainstream classrooms. By addressing the specific needs of this diverse student community, teachers are given the chance to sharpen instruction and create learning opportunities for the entire class. The authors discuss two easy‐to‐follow principles that will increase literacy outcomes for students who are deaf or hard of hearing and all other learners by making content and thinking visible and optimizing access to the language and thoughts of all readers and writers. Practical tips and strategies are based on research and experience across a range of settings, including schools for the deaf with signing students, and mainstream classrooms with students who use listening and spoken language are included.

  July 26, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1619   open full text
• Parent Book Talk to Accelerate Spanish Content Vocabulary Knowledge.
  Sharolyn D. Pollard‐Durodola, Jorge E. Gonzalez, Teresa Satterfield, José R. Benki, Juana Vaquero, Camille Ungco.
  The Reading Teacher. July 24, 2017
  This article bridges research to practice by summarizing an interactive content‐enriched shared book reading approach that Spanish‐speaking parents of preschool‐age children can easily use in the home to accelerate content vocabulary knowledge in Spanish. The approach was implemented in preschool classrooms using a transitional bilingual education model in Central Texas and in a Saturday Spanish heritage language school in the Midwestern United States. Spanish‐speaking emergent bilingual children from both lower and higher socioeconomic status backgrounds learned content‐related vocabulary via parent–child discussions of Spanish storybooks and informational texts organized by compelling science and social studies themes and topics. The authors provide recommendations for how teachers can support Spanish‐speaking parents' ability to develop informal knowledge‐building experiences through home‐based interactive book discussions in Spanish.

  July 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1615   open full text
• Addressing Unintended Instructional Messages About Repeated Reading.
  Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher.
  The Reading Teacher. July 10, 2017
  The authors analyzed 88 classroom observations to determine whether there were actions that teachers were taking to send a message to students that rereading was not valuable. They identified three practices during shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading that telegraphed messages to students against rereading. The authors also observed teachers building repeated reading into their instruction as they changed the purpose, asked really good questions, pressed for evidence, and provided an audience for students.

  July 10, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1617   open full text
• What If “Just Right” Is Just Wrong? The Unintended Consequences of Leveling Readers.
  James V. Hoffman.
  The Reading Teacher. June 25, 2017
  The author questions the “just right” leveling of student texts as having put limitations on students and teachers in promoting literacy. The historical background for the leveling of text and readers is described. The author identifies a number of unintended consequences associated with the use of leveling and guided reading. Alternatives to leveling and guided reading are presented, with a particular focus on work in informational texts in inquiry.

  June 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1611   open full text
• Easy as AcHGzrjq: The Quick Letter Name Knowledge Assessment.
  Laura S. Tortorelli, Ryan P. Bowles, Lori E. Skibbe.
  The Reading Teacher. June 25, 2017
  A firm foundation in alphabet knowledge is critical for children learning to read. Under new literacy standards, letter name knowledge in preschool and kindergarten can function as a gatekeeper to the rest of the curriculum. Teachers need data about their students’ alphabet knowledge early and often to plan differentiated instruction that moves all students forward in their literacy development. This article describes the Quick Letter Name Knowledge Assessment (Q‐LNK), a rigorous, research‐based letter name knowledge assessment designed for screening and benchmark testing that can be administered in less than a minute per student. The authors discuss the need for alphabet screening and benchmark assessments, the research on how students develop knowledge of letter names, and how the Q‐LNK assessment was developed and tested. The procedure for using the Q‐LNK is illustrated with the description of a teacher administering, scoring, and interpreting results from the assessment in her kindergarten class.

  June 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1608   open full text
• How Will I Know What My Students Need? Preparing Preservice Teachers to Use Running Records to Make Instructional Decisions.
  Erin Gillett, Susan Pierson Ellingson.
  The Reading Teacher. June 12, 2017
  Effective teachers use assessment data to make instructional decisions. One of the most informative techniques to assess young learners’ reading progress in the primary grades is the running record. Running records provide concrete evidence of students’ skills, reading levels, strategies, and progress as readers. The data gathered help teachers identify readers’ current strengths, needs, and reading levels. Frequent consideration of assessment data allows teachers to make up‐to‐the‐minute evidence‐based instructional decisions for their students. How do preservice teachers learn to take, score, and analyze running records to inform their literacy instruction? This article describes two approaches used by teacher educators to equip preservice elementary teachers with beginning proficiency in using running records to determine next steps of reading instruction for young students. The authors also provide novice teacher educators with insight into how they might incorporate running records instruction into their assessment or methods coursework, and they suggest resources to guide follow‐up instruction.

  June 12, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1609   open full text
• Planning for Technology Integration in a Professional Learning Community.
  Jennifer Thoma, Amy Hutchison, Debra Johnson, Kurt Johnson, Elizabeth Stromer.
  The Reading Teacher. May 24, 2017
  Barriers to technology integration in instruction include a lack of time, resources, and professional development. One potential approach to overcoming these barriers is through collaborative work, or professional learning communities. This article focuses on one group of teachers who leveraged their professional learning community to focus on integrating technology into their literacy instruction. Through this experience, teachers changed the way they approached technology integration. This article adds to the current literature on professional development and technology integration by exploring the perspectives of three fifth‐grade teachers working in a collaborative learning community over a period of one year. Implications from this experience suggest that using common formative assessments, providing ample time to learn together, and using a facilitator can help teachers work together effectively to integrate technology into literacy instruction.

  May 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1604   open full text
• Text Structure Strategies for Improving Expository Reading Comprehension.
  Julia V. Roehling, Michael Hebert, J. Ron Nelson, Janet J. Bohaty.
  The Reading Teacher. May 22, 2017
  Comprehending expository reading material is a challenge for many students. Research has shown that students’ expository reading comprehension can improve with the help of text structure instruction. The purpose of this article is to present teachers with a framework for effectively implementing text structure instruction in their classrooms. Within this framework, the authors suggest four possible learning objectives for text structure instruction. They then describe instructional strategies related to each objective and ways to assess whether the objectives were met. Finally, the authors discuss some issues to consider when choosing expository reading material for students and present text structure unit plans for grades 2 and 5 as examples of how teachers might construct a unit.

  May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1590   open full text
• Confronting the Digital Divide: Debunking Brave New World Discourses.
  Jennifer Rowsell, Ernest Morrell, Donna E. Alvermann.
  The Reading Teacher. May 20, 2017
  There is far more to the digital divide than meets the eye. In this article, the authors consolidate existing research on the digital divide to offer some tangible ways for educators to bridge the gap between the haves and have‐nots, or the cans and cannots. Drawing on Aldous Huxley's notion of a “brave new world,” some digital divide approaches and frameworks require debunking and are strongly associated with first‐world nations that fail to account for the differential access to technologies that people who live in poverty have. Taking a closer look at current realities, the authors send out a call to teachers, administrators, and researchers to think more seriously and consequentially about the effect the widespread adoption of technologies has had on younger generations and the role of the digital on knowledge creation and on imagined futures.

  May 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1603   open full text
• Supporting Disciplinary Talk From the Start of School: Teaching Students to Think and Talk Like Scientists.
  Tanya S. Wright, Amelia Wenk Gotwals.
  The Reading Teacher. May 20, 2017
  In this article, the authors first review the research literature to show why supporting talk from the start of school is important for students’ long‐term literacy development. The authors then define and describe disciplinary talk and argue that it is an important entry point into science and disciplinary literacy learning for young students. The authors briefly describe their research project, which found success in improving students’ science talk: SOLID Start (Science, Oral Language, and Literacy Development from the Start of School). The rest of the article describes the SOLID Start instructional strategies for supporting disciplinary talk: the research that supports these strategies, examples of what each strategy looks like in primary‐grade classrooms, and how‐tos for teachers to start using these instructional strategies.

  May 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1602   open full text
• Developing a Culture of Readers: Complementary Materials That Engage.
  Misty Sailors, Davie Kaambankadzanja.
  The Reading Teacher. May 02, 2017
  Many professionals, including members of the International Literacy Association, are concerned with the lack of reading materials in classrooms across the world. In this paper, the authors present the creation of high‐quality, locally produced, complementary reading materials in Malawi, where there are very few children's books and few opportunities to read extended texts. The authors describe their approach to the creation of those materials, using engagement as their theoretical frame. Because many teachers in countries such as Malawi (and in many schools in the United States) often receive books that are culturally and linguistically inappropriate, the authors argue for the importance of local reading materials that take engagement into consideration as teachers make decisions about the reading materials they use in their classrooms.

  May 02, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1589   open full text
• Why You Need to Be Careful About Visible Learning.
  Timothy Shanahan.
  The Reading Teacher. April 28, 2017
  This department column features articles aimed at helping practitioners think about research and its application to classrooms. The focus is usually on specific examples of research about literacy instruction and what they have to tell us about teaching.

  April 28, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1570   open full text
• Becoming Nonfiction Authors: Engaging in Science Inquiry.
  Sara Kersten.
  The Reading Teacher. March 29, 2017
  This article describes how second‐grade students’ literacy learning was enhanced as they used their developing knowledge of nonfiction in an integrated English language arts/science unit toward the creation of multimodal nonfiction science books. After explaining the Common Core State Standards that guided the unit, the author outlines the theoretical practices of project‐based learning that informed the teacher's instruction. Then, the author explores how the teacher guided her students to an understanding of the genre and positioned her students as authors of nonfiction, taking readers through an outline of the students’ process of creating research questions, writing in their own words, establishing a purpose for their writing, and conveying scientific information through multiple modes. As a result, students had a deeper understanding of the genre of nonfiction and were engaged in scientific inquiry, learning how to convey and share nonfiction information through multimodal books.

  March 29, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1577   open full text
• Using Children's Literature for Dynamic Learning Frames and Growth Mindsets.
  Grace Enriquez, Summer R. Clark, Jessica Della Calce.
  The Reading Teacher. March 29, 2017
  This article describes a kindergarten teacher's incorporation of children's literature for dynamic learning frame, growth mind‐set, and social justice development into her classroom literacy instruction. The authors first compare a dynamic learning frame with a growth mind‐set, explaining their use of the former because of its consideration for social justice and civic engagement. The authors then argue that the language in certain children's literature, as well as the language that teachers use to prompt students’ responses to the books, can spark young children's development of a dynamic learning frame. Toward this aim, the authors share three examples from read‐aloud sessions over the course of a year that illustrate how the kindergarten teacher helped her students develop a dynamic learning framework through the selection of children's literature that supported that goal in both theme and language as well as the language that she used to discuss those books with her class.

  March 29, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1583   open full text
• From Surviving to Thriving: Four Research‐Based Principles to Build Students’ Reading Interest.
  Sheree E. Springer, Samantha Harris, Janice A. Dole.
  The Reading Teacher. March 23, 2017
  In an educational climate in which many teachers may feel the tension between achieving grade‐level literacy standards and creating lifelong readers, interest can be a powerful mediator that impacts students’ cognitive and affective experiences with reading. This practical article presents four research‐based principles of reading interest—individual interests, situational interest, text‐based interest, and interest regulation—and describes how each can be used and implemented in the classroom to nurture motivated and resilient readers.

  March 23, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1581   open full text
• Instructional Interactions: Supporting Students’ Reading Development Through Interactive Read‐Alouds of Informational Texts.
  Erin L. McClure, Susan King Fullerton.
  The Reading Teacher. March 22, 2017
  This article provides classroom examples of how interactive read‐alouds of informational texts facilitate collaborative and respectful discussions that promote literacy learning. Several specific considerations for making interactive read‐alouds engaging and successful are presented in an effort to support educators in capitalizing on this effective instructional practice.

  March 22, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1576   open full text
• MODEL2TALK: An Intervention to Promote Productive Classroom Talk.
  Chiel Veen, Femke Wilt, Claudia Kruistum, Bert Oers, Sarah Michaels.
  The Reading Teacher. March 21, 2017
  This article describes the MODEL2TALK intervention, which aims to promote young children's oral communicative competence through productive classroom talk. Productive classroom talk provides children in early childhood education with many opportunities to talk and think together. Results from a large‐scale study show that productive classroom talk has a positive effect on young children's oral language abilities. This is of great importance as good oral communicative competence is related to later reading comprehension skills and social acceptance and mediates learning, thinking, and self‐regulation. Teachers can promote productive talk in their classrooms by giving children more space to share their ideas, listen to one another, reason, think together, and reflect on their communicative performance. The examples in this article support teachers to adopt productive talk and move toward a classroom culture in which children think and communicate together.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1573   open full text
• Student Experiences With Writing: Taking the Temperature of the Classroom.
  Sharon Zumbrunn, Eric Ekholm, J.K. Stringer, Kimberly McKnight, Morgan DeBusk‐Lane.
  The Reading Teacher. March 14, 2017
  This article offers insights into students’ perceptions of writing through the use of drawings and written responses. In a descriptive qualitative study of fifth graders across two diverse elementary schools, students were prompted to draw a picture about a recent experience with writing and how that experience made them feel. Students were then asked to write a description of their drawings. We studied features in the drawings and written responses and constructed four thematic categories. Findings highlight the range of both positive and negative experiences with writing as well as a realistic tool for literacy teachers to use to take the temperature of the classroom.

  March 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1574   open full text
• Self‐Regulated Learning: A Touchstone for Technology‐Enhanced Classrooms.
  Ruth McQuirter Scott, Nancy Meeussen.
  The Reading Teacher. March 13, 2017
  Technology‐enhanced classrooms offer dynamic possibilities for teachers and students. The teacher's role can shift from being an expert in control of the class to being a coach who challenges students to use technology to explore the world and share their findings in innovative ways. Such redefining of roles, however, involves risk and often discomfort on the part of teachers and students alike. This article describes the classroom of a third‐grade teacher who has placed self‐regulated learning at the heart of her approach to embedding technology throughout her program. By explicitly teaching and reinforcing the skills of self‐regulation, she is able to nurture the development of independent, collaborative learners who use technology to access information and document and share their learning.

  March 13, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1564   open full text
• Integrating Science Inquiry and Literacy Instruction for Young Children.
  Sarah K. Clark, Kimberly Lott.
  The Reading Teacher. March 09, 2017
  Early elementary teachers are under great pressure to teach all children to read and write at highly proficient levels while simultaneously emphasizing STEM instruction to prepare students for the 21st century. Traditionally, literacy skills are taught in isolation from science instruction. However, reading and writing are the perfect tools to use for inquiry and reasoning, for creating a hypothesis, and for gathering, evaluating, and analyzing data. In this article, the authors describe how literacy and science instruction can be merged to create innovative, stimulating, and enriching learning experiences for young children.

  March 09, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1572   open full text
• Rethinking Reader Response With Fifth Graders’ Semiotic Interpretations.
  Diane Barone, Rebecca Barone.
  The Reading Teacher. March 01, 2017
  Fifth graders interpreted the book Doll Bones by Holly Black through visual representations from the beginning to the end of the book. Each visual representation was analyzed to determine how students responded. Most frequently, they moved to inferential ways of understanding. Students often visually interpreted emotional plot elements and incorporated words, graffiti, and graphic organizers into their responses.

  March 01, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1563   open full text
• The High Cost of “Girl Books” for Young Adolescent Boys.
  Megan Munson‐Warnken.
  The Reading Teacher. February 14, 2017
  “Boy books” are frequently promoted as a surefire way to increase reading motivation and engagement among young adolescent boys. This study challenges the “boy book”/”girl book” dichotomy, suggesting that particular book covers may discourage boys from reading novels they might otherwise enjoy. It also presents evidence of social consequences for boys carrying a “girl book” down a school hallway but not for girls carrying books a “boy book.” Ultimately, this research suggests that young adolescent readers need help from teachers, librarians, parents, and peers to recognize and disrupt gendered stereotypes that define boys and masculinity in limited ways while creating unsafe school spaces for boys as readers.

  February 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1562   open full text
• Hybrid Text: An Engaging Genre to Teach Content Area Material Across the Curriculum.
  William P. Bintz, Lisa M. Ciecierski.
  The Reading Teacher. February 14, 2017
  The Common Core State Standards for English language arts expect that teachers will use narrative and informational texts to teach content area material across the curriculum. However, many teachers at all grade levels struggle to incorporate both kinds of text, especially given the vast amount of specialized content they are required to teach. The purpose of this article is to introduce hybrid text as an engaging genre that artfully integrates narrative and informational text and teaches content area material across the curriculum. It begins by situating hybrid text within the Common Core Anchor Standards for Reading. Next, it describes how hybrid texts can integrate narrative and informational text. Then, it identifies several design features and discusses potentials of hybrid text. It ends by sharing suggested hybrid texts that teachers can use to teach mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts.

  February 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1560   open full text
• Poverty Is Two Coins: Young Children Explore Social Justice Through Reading and Art.
  Judith Dunkerly‐Bean, Thomas W. Bean, Kristine Sunday, Raleta Summers.
  The Reading Teacher. February 14, 2017
  In this study, the authors look at the ways that global children's literature, drawing, and dramatic play were used as a means to generate children's understanding of issues such as poverty, fairness, and equity and to invite them to recontextualize conceptions of global issues into more localized and situated understanding through aesthetic experiences. The emerging themes demonstrated children's ability to navigate, negotiate, and disrupt issues of local and global social injustice. However, the nexus of practice, most notably the dominant ideologies of the teachers and the site, mediated the possible understandings and transformational potential available to the students.

  February 14, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1566   open full text
• Using a Simulation to Teach Reading Assessment to Preservice Teachers.
  Kristen Ferguson.
  The Reading Teacher. January 31, 2017
  Simulations are an underpinning pedagogy and tradition in some professional fields, such as medicine, yet are seldom used in education. In this study, the author reports on the findings of a reading assessment situation activity that she did with preservice early grade (kindergarten to grade 6) teachers. In addition to giving preservice teachers practice conducting reading assessments, this simulation activity also allowed students the opportunity to reflect on teaching strategies (both how they themselves teach while on practicum and what they personally experience in their teacher preparation program). Results from questionnaires completed by the participants in the simulation indicate that the simulation was very valuable and expanded the preservice teachers’ perspectives on reading, assessment practices, and how they view students. There is very little published about simulations in education, particularly in literacy education, and this study adds an important perspective on using simulations in preservice classrooms and for professional development for practicing teachers.

  January 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1561   open full text
• Boy Troubles? Male Literacy Depictions in Children's Choices Picture Books.
  Kristine Gritter, Deborah Vriend Van Duinen, Kimberly Montgomery, Devony Blowers, Dan Bishop.
  The Reading Teacher. January 31, 2017
  This article is a critical content analysis of Children's Choice award‐winning picture books from 2000 to 2014. The “critical” part of the analysis consists of selecting archetypes for males presented in these texts based on applying feminist poststructuralist literacy theory that situates literacy and language at the center of gender identity manifestation. In this analysis, the dominant archetypes for male characters tended to be Wildman, Friend, and Creator. In many books, male protagonists used literacy to maintain or develop a positive identity throughout the plot of the book, as reading, writing, and symbolic communication increased choices for male characters and offered insight through language, often inspiring change. Our findings suggest that deficit views of young males’ literacy practices still appear in award‐winning picture books but are becoming more complex and positive. This matters because picture books reveal values of literacy as characters read or write or engage in symbolic communication.

  January 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1559   open full text
• Giving Feedback: Preparing Students for Peer Review and Self‐Evaluation.
  Zoi A. Philippakos.
  The Reading Teacher. January 31, 2017
  Revision is an important aspect of the writing process but is often challenging for students. Peer review can be helpful, but training is needed for it to work effectively. This article suggests an approach to preparing students for peer review by teaching specific evaluation criteria and leading collaborative practice in reviewing papers written by unknown peers. This practice supports self‐evaluation as well as peer review and increases students’ knowledge of effective writing and the quality of their own writing. Specific examples are presented to demonstrate the effects of this approach.

  January 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1568   open full text
• Slaying Monsters: Students’ Aesthetic Transactions With Gothic Texts.
  Jennifer Renner Del Nero.
  The Reading Teacher. January 06, 2017
  This study employed case study methodology and design research to examine what aesthetic transactions (readers’ thoughts, feelings, associations, etc. that arise during a text encounter) students constructed in response to texts in a Gothic studies reading unit created by the author. The study was conducted in a seventh‐grade reading classroom. Thematic analysis was used to analyze participant data. The findings revealed that participants constructed myriad aesthetic transactions of meaningful connection and imaginative contrast with the Gothic unit texts. Participants enhanced these transactions and formed new ones as a result of pedagogical practices that also nurtured their construction of aesthetic transactions. As a result of these dynamics, participants gleaned academic, personal, and global understandings. The findings suggest that prioritizing students’ construction of aesthetic transactions is critical in order for academic reading to be a meaningful experience that educates the whole person.

  January 06, 2017   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1551   open full text
• Reading Research: The Importance of Replication.
  Timothy Shanahan.
  The Reading Teacher. December 30, 2016
  This department column features articles aimed at helping practitioners think about research and its application to classrooms. The focus is usually on specific examples of research about literacy instruction and what they have to tell us about teaching.

  December 30, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1520   open full text
• Do Text‐Dependent Questions Need to Be Teacher‐Dependent? Close Reading From Another Angle.
  Diane Santori, Monica Belfatti.
  The Reading Teacher. December 28, 2016
  The term close reading often conjures up an image of a teacher asking students several scripted questions that encourage them to reread and critically examine a text. The teacher then evaluates the students' responses. In this article, the authors offer another approach to close reading—one that places students' text‐dependent questions front and center as they collaboratively discuss the text and construct meaning. The authors analyze transcript excerpts from small‐group discussions of narrative and informational texts to demonstrate elementary students' abilities to ask and answer their own text‐dependent questions as they engage in close reading.

  December 28, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1555   open full text
• Finding Versus Fixing: Self‐Monitoring for Readers Who Struggle.
  Nancy L. Anderson, Elizabeth L. Kaye.
  The Reading Teacher. December 13, 2016
  This article explains how teachers can understand, notice, and supportively respond to readers who struggle with self‐monitoring during text reading. The unique strategic processing demands for readers who struggle support the argument that teaching children to find and notice errors is different than fixing a word, or getting it right. Three critical attributes of teaching for self‐monitoring based on the important works of Peter Johnston and Marie Clay are put forth: teacher observation and hypothesizing, noticing and naming, and teaching for strategic activity and agency. Teaching examples provide a frame for critical attributes to guide professional conversations around self‐monitoring.

  December 13, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1552   open full text
• Scaffolding Word Solving While Reading: New Research Insights.
  Emily Rodgers.
  The Reading Teacher. November 26, 2016
  For many teachers, the term scaffolding has come to mean providing just the right amount of help when a student encounters difficulty. However, there is another facet of scaffolding that has been largely ignored, and that is making decisions about what to focus on to help the student. In this article, new research findings are shared about both types of scaffolding and the role they play in helping beginning readers solve new words while reading connected text. Suggestions are provided for how teachers can use these findings to more effectively scaffold young students’ word solving attempts as they read a new book with teacher help.

  November 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1548   open full text
• Instructional Frameworks for Quality Talk About Text: Choosing the Best Approach.
  Sarah C. Lightner, Ian A.G. Wilkinson.
  The Reading Teacher. November 26, 2016
  In this article, the authors provide a menu of nine discussion frameworks from which teachers can choose to engage students in collaborative conversations about text in order to foster reading comprehension and address the Common Core State Standards. Some of the frameworks identified in this article are better suited to instructional goals that emphasize acquiring information from a text, whereas others are better suited to goals of adopting a critical‐analytic stance toward the text; still others are better suited to goals that require students to respond to literature on an expressive level. The authors describe features of the nine discussion frameworks for teachers to consider when choosing which framework best meets their instructional goals and the needs of their students.

  November 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1547   open full text
• Retrospective Video Analysis: A Reflective Tool for Teachers and Teacher Educators.
  Melissa Mosley Wetzel, Beth Maloch, James V. Hoffman.
  The Reading Teacher. November 18, 2016
  Teachers may need tools to use video for reflection toward ongoing toward education and teacher leadership. Based on Goodman's (1996) notion of retrospective miscue analysis, a method of reading instruction that revalues the reader and his or her strategies, retrospective video analysis guides teachers in appreciating and understanding their own reflective teaching moves. Drawing on data from research on a model called Coaching with CARE, this article provides a framework and a case study for teachers who are working with preservice teachers or inservice teachers to build reflective literacy teaching practices.

  November 18, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1550   open full text
• E‐Books and E‐Book Apps: Considerations for Beginning Readers.
  Celeste C. Bates, Adria Klein, Barbara Schubert, Lea McGee, Nancy Anderson, Linda Dorn, Erin McClure, Rachael Huber Ross.
  The Reading Teacher. November 12, 2016
  This article highlights considerations for teachers when selecting and using e‐books and e‐book applications (apps) with beginning readers during guided and independent reading. A framework for examining e‐books and e‐book apps is suggested, and several apps and related digital features are described. The article also includes an overview of children's emergent and early reading behaviors, the types of texts that support these behaviors, and examples of how digital texts could influence beginning reading instruction. Also discussed are the ways in which e‐books and e‐book apps can enhance the home–school connection and support English learners.

  November 12, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1543   open full text
• Creating and Using Culturally Sustaining Informational Texts.
  Lynne M. Watanabe Kganetso.
  The Reading Teacher. November 08, 2016
  Current standards and assessments emphasize the importance of a variety of genres in students’ literacy diets, which has placed increased attention on informational texts. Unfortunately, young students’ current exposure to and experiences with informational texts are often limited by the texts’ availability, quality, and relevance to children's lives. One way to address these issues of access and relevance is to create and use informational texts in more authentic, culturally sustaining, and productive ways. This article draws on a research study to outline suggestions for making and using culturally sustaining informational texts with young students. In this research, culturally sustaining informational texts of two genres (procedural and informative/explanatory) were developed, read, and written with standard 2 (second year of formal schooling) students in Botswana. Students who used these texts in reading and writing lessons showed increases in abilities to read and write both genres.

  November 08, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1546   open full text
• Disciplinary Literacy in Elementary School: How a Struggling Student Positions Herself as a Writer.
  Anne Håland.
  The Reading Teacher. November 08, 2016
  This article focuses on disciplinary literacy and how a struggling writer in a Norwegian classroom positions herself as a disciplinary writer when given model texts. The study explores how model texts can scaffold students’ disciplinary writing and give them the opportunity to position themselves as disciplinary writers in lab reports and factual storybooks. The analysis of one struggling student's writing shows how she uses disciplinary language features and how she understands disciplinary literacy.

  November 08, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1541   open full text
• What Happens When a Teacher Uses Metalanguage to Teach Spelling?
  Tessa Daffern.
  The Reading Teacher. November 01, 2016
  While learning to spell in English is integral to becoming a literate writer, it is a complex and gradual skill to master. If English spelling is understood from a phonological, orthographic, and morphological perspective, its transparency becomes evident. The case study described in this article shines a light on an Australian Year 4 classroom teacher and one of the students in the class. It illustrates the importance of teacher knowledge in the linguistics of spelling and how teachers can apply their content and pedagogical knowledge to encourage children to talk about the spelling strategies they use. Teachers who model and encourage the use of metalanguage while integrating spelling instruction with meaningful reading and writing experiences can empower students to build autonomy and confidence in their spelling.

  November 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1528   open full text
• SAIL: A Framework for Promoting Next‐Generation Word Study.
  Kathy Ganske.
  The Reading Teacher. October 26, 2016
  This article introduces SAIL, an instructional framework designed to help teachers optimize students’ learning during small‐group word study instruction. Small‐group word study interactions afford opportunities for teachers to engage students in thinking, talking, advancing vocabulary knowledge (including general academic vocabulary), and making connections to reading and writing while furthering students’ knowledge of orthographic features. Yet, often, these opportunities are not leveraged. The SAIL framework encourages attention to these areas through four components: Survey, Analyze, Interpret, and Link. First, the author describes the SAIL components; then, to reveal some of SAIL's potential for enabling more robust instruction, she presents transcribed vignettes from a first‐grade classroom. The highlighted classroom was part of an exploratory study of K–1 classroom implementation of SAIL. SAIL can also be applied with learners at more advanced elementary grades. A list of elementary‐appropriate general academic vocabulary words is included.

  October 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1529   open full text
• A Problem‐Solving Model for Literacy Coaching Practice.
  Cathy A. Toll.
  The Reading Teacher. September 24, 2016
  Literacy coaches are more effective when they have a clear plan for their collaborations with teachers. This article provides details of such a plan, which involves identifying a problem, understanding the problem, deciding what to do differently, and trying something different. For each phase of the problem‐solving model, there are key tasks for literacy coaches that will help them assist their teacher partners. The article also provides two other common models of teacher problem solving and explains why they are not as effective in supporting teachers in the coaching cycle.

  September 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1532   open full text
• The Intersection of Words and Pictures: Second Through Fourth Graders Read Graphic Novels.
  William Boerman‐Cornell.
  The Reading Teacher. September 02, 2016
  This study analyzes how second, third, and fourth graders in a racially integrated suburban school engaged in multimodal meaning making in the context of a book club discussing Ben Hatke's graphic novel Zita the Spacegirl. Qualitative analysis of field notes and assessments indicated three overall findings: First, students responded to multimodal graphic novel texts with comments and observations that were themselves multimodal. Second, students were capable of engaging in literary analysis and discussion related to the graphic novel they read. And third, students connected multimodally to other texts, graphic novels, and life experiences.

  September 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1525   open full text
• Visual Thinking Strategies: Teachers' Reflections on Closely Reading Complex Visual Texts Within the Disciplines.
  Marva Cappello, Nancy T. Walker.
  The Reading Teacher. September 02, 2016
  The authors offer a new perspective on close reading that uses a range of multimodal texts to capitalize on the visual nature of contemporary society and to support literacy within the academic disciplines. Specifically, a qualitative study explored teachers' perspectives on the use of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a practice borrowed from museum educators that replicates close reading processes, to support literacy learning within subject areas. The analysis revealed teachers' beliefs that VTS supported students' academic vocabulary development and accountable talk. In addition, the teachers felt that VTS created a safe environment for all students to participate, thus providing access to the curriculum. The authors argue that teachers can adapt VTS to help students meet the needs of 21st century communication modes as they analyze and create print and nonprint texts in different forms of media.

  September 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1523   open full text
• Matching Interventions to Reading Needs: A Case for Differentiation.
  Jill S. Jones, Kristin Conradi, Steven J. Amendum.
  The Reading Teacher. August 11, 2016
  The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of providing reading interventions that are differentiated and aligned with an individual student's most foundational reading skill need. The authors present profiles of different readers and suggest three principal areas for support: decoding words, reading at an appropriate rate, and comprehending text. Differentiated interventions are described and related classroom instructional techniques are recommended.

  August 11, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1513   open full text
• Implementing a Digital Reading and Writing Workshop Model for Content Literacy Instruction in an Urban Elementary (K–8) School.
  Katia Ciampa.
  The Reading Teacher. August 03, 2016
  This article describes how one urban elementary school's professional development workshop on technology helped teachers grow in their knowledge and practice of a digital reading and writing workshop model. Created in partnership with university faculty, school administration, and elementary teachers, this whole‐school professional development initiative enabled urban elementary school teachers to learn how to translate the workshop model to technology‐enhanced teaching practice. Significant elements of the professional development workshop included an opening, a minilesson, small‐group and independent work, conferring, sharing, and debriefing. Data sources included a preworkshop needs assessment survey, postworkshop evaluation surveys, and observational field notes. In describing the components for the professional development workshop and particular learning outcomes for the teachers, this article sheds some light on what is possible in supporting schoolwide technology‐enhanced teacher professional learning.

  August 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1514   open full text
• Using Print in the Environment to Promote Early Writing.
  Hope K. Gerde, Megan E. Goetsch, Gary E. Bingham.
  The Reading Teacher. July 14, 2016
  Print in the environment is typically posted in early childhood classrooms. However, the print that exists is often not meaningful to children, and teachers rarely engage children in using the print. This is a missed opportunity to support children's writing. This article presents research‐based ideas for engaging children with meaningful print in the environment and provides ways for creating print that are related to children's interests, aligned to current classroom content, and co‐created with children. Strategies for how to engage children with print in the environment are also outlined.

  July 14, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1508   open full text
• Enriching and Assessing Young Children's Multimodal Storytelling.
  Christy Wessel‐Powell, Tolga Kargin, Karen E. Wohlwend.
  The Reading Teacher. June 24, 2016
  This article provides primary teachers with assessment tools and curricular examples to expand writers’ workshop by adding a multimodal storytelling unit on drama and filmmaking, allowing students to create engaging off‐the‐page stories through films and play performances that enrich writing. Too often, children's literacy abilities are assessed solely based on what they can write on paper, overlooking the rich ways children convey meaning through multiple communication modes like sound effects, gesture, movement, images, and language in their storytelling. This research recognizes play as an important literacy and argues that a multimodal emphasis in teaching and assessment more closely matches the ways children learn and make meaning in their everyday lives. This study is a part of a larger, ongoing multiyear, multisite study of literacy playshops in early childhood classrooms and teacher education.

  June 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1491   open full text
• Lessons From Sociocultural Writing Research for Implementing the Common Core State Standards.
  Rebecca Woodard, Sonia Kline.
  The Reading Teacher. June 16, 2016
  The Common Core State Standards advocate more writing than previous standards; however, in taking a college and career readiness perspective, the Standards neglect to emphasize the role of context and culture in learning to write. We argue that sociocultural perspectives that pay attention to these factors offer insights into how to interpret and implement the Standards in more meaningful ways. This article shares sociocultural research to elaborate on—and, in some cases, contest—the writing and language Standards and to support teachers in three key pedagogical shifts: from “text types and purposes” to genre, from “technology to produce and publish” to new media literacies, and from “conventions and standard English” to asset‐based perspectives on grammar and language use. By critically examining both explicit and implied messages in the Standards, we invite educators to interrogate documents and mandates that inform instructional practices, a cornerstone of our profession.

  June 16, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1505   open full text
• Thinking With Research: Research Changes Its Mind (Again).
  Timothy Shanahan.
  The Reading Teacher. June 03, 2016
  This department features articles aimed at helping practitioners to think about research and its application to classrooms. The focus is usually on specific examples of research about literacy instruction and what they have to tell us about teaching.

  June 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1504   open full text
• Embedding Vocabulary Instruction Into the Art Experience.
  RoseAnn LaBrocca, Lesley Mandel Morrow.
  The Reading Teacher. June 03, 2016
  The purpose of this article is to describe how an elementary art specialist scaffolded learning of specific academic vocabulary during a unit on how to create hollow clay ceramic sculptures. Although much has been written recently on how elementary teachers might better teach academic vocabulary in reading and language arts contexts as well as in social studies, math, and science, addressing methods to teach academic vocabulary in the arts has been virtually ignored (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Blachowicz, Fisher, Ogle, & Watts‐Taffe, 2013). The article discusses (a) research, theory, and policy issues that support this initiative; (b) details of the sculpture‐related vocabulary and reading activities enacted in 14 art periods with third‐grade children; and (c) extensions and elaborations of this approach for other elementary educational contexts.

  June 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1488   open full text
• Get All “Jazzed Up” for Vocabulary Instruction: Strategies That Engage.
  Melissa A. Gallagher, Blythe E. Anderson.
  The Reading Teacher. May 30, 2016
  Vocabulary instruction is a key component of reading comprehension but is often not addressed sufficiently in classrooms. The authors worked with a team of fifth‐grade teachers in professional development targeted to learning instructional strategies for developing students' vocabularies. In this article, the authors share two strategies that the teachers said their students found most engaging: the Graffiti Wall and the Picture Word Wall. Both strategies were the teachers' adaptations of strategies shared with them and were built on best practices from literacy research, including explicit vocabulary instruction, a gradual release of responsibility, using pictures to support retention, ongoing review, word learning strategies, universal participation and accountability, encouraging student autonomy, using challenging and interesting texts, and fostering collaboration. This article describes the two strategies so that any teacher could try them tomorrow.

  May 30, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1498   open full text
• When Readers Ask Questions: Inquiry‐Based Reading Instruction.
  Molly Ness.
  The Reading Teacher. May 24, 2016
  When literacy instruction is driven by student‐generated questions, students are able to dive deeper into text. This article explores the cognitive and motivational benefits of question generation to foster reading comprehension. The author presents classroom vignettes where students become inquisitive readers by posing their own questions. As they generate questions within and beyond the text, these authentic student inquiries promote reading comprehension and text engagement.

  May 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1492   open full text
• Intensity of Focus, Richness of Content: Crafting Tier 2 Response to Intervention in an Era of the Common Core.
  Elizabeth L. Jaeger.
  The Reading Teacher. May 24, 2016
  This article describes a Tier 2 intervention program for fourth graders that is well suited to supporting implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Screening assessments and miscue analyses were used to clarify students’ strengths and challenges. Students then attended only classes that were suited to their particular literacy needs, spending the remainder of their time participating in classroom lessons that integrated language arts throughout content area curriculum. This program supported struggling readers in effective and efficient ways. A Tier 2 class in prosody is explained in depth. Findings demonstrate clear growth on progress‐monitoring assessments and overall reading gains as measured on an informal reading inventory. The study has implications for adjusting RTI protocols to better suit contemporary literacy practices.

  May 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1495   open full text
• Crafting Creative Nonfiction: From Close Reading to Close Writing.
  Cynthia A. Dollins.
  The Reading Teacher. May 24, 2016
  A process writing project in a third‐grade classroom explored the idea of using nonfiction mentor texts to assist students in writing their own creative informational texts about animals. By looking at author craft and structure during close reading activities with nonfiction Twin Texts, students were taught how to emulate these techniques in their own writing. A process for implementation of the project is presented here. The project included mini‐lessons on various aspects of writing improvement such as crafting strong leads, using specific revision strategies, and exploring narrative elements in some informational texts. The results suggest that students were able to replicate writing style strategies found in mentor texts. Final writing drafts displayed how students included important facts in their informational writing and presented these facts in an engaging and powerful way.

  May 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1465   open full text
• Free Play or Tight Spaces? Mapping Participatory Literacies in Apps.
  Jennifer Rowsell, Karen Wohlwend.
  The Reading Teacher. May 21, 2016
  Building on existing research applying app maps (Israelson, ), the authors take an ideological orientation to broaden app evaluations and consider participatory literacies, social and communicational practices relevant to children's everyday digitally mediated lives. Drawing from their North American elementary classroom studies on children's technology play with iPads, the authors compare four typical literacy practices with apps: practicing a skill, reading an e‐book, animating a film, and designing an interactive world. A rubric and radar charts are introduced to help teachers assess and visualize educational apps’ potential to develop six dimensions of participatory literacies: multiplayer, productive, multimodal, multilinear, pleasurable, and connected. The authors conclude with a push for broadened definitions and looser frameworks.

  May 21, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1490   open full text
• Language‐Rich Early Childhood Classroom: Simple but Powerful Beginnings.
  Erin Elizabeth Flynn.
  The Reading Teacher. May 19, 2016
  This article highlights research exploring the benefits of small‐group storytelling as a way to promote rich language in early childhood classrooms. Using the storytelling of children from a preschool classroom serving lower SES children, the author explores the collaborative affordances of story circles. Results show that small‐group storytelling engages children in ways of using language associated with literacy learning. When storytelling, children use language in extended, multiclause turns, relaying what happened in another context. Story requires children to communicate what happened as well as the interpersonal significance of events. Small‐group storytelling also gives children a chance to practice diverse genres of story and variations in forms of meaning making. The aim of the article is to help teachers appreciate the powerful uses of language present even in children's seemingly simple stories.

  May 19, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1487   open full text
• Meeting Characters in Caldecotts: What Does This Mean for Today's Readers?
  Melanie D. Koss, Miriam Martinez, Nancy J. Johnson.
  The Reading Teacher. May 17, 2016
  We examined representations of main characters in Caldecott Award winner and honor books over the past 25 years. Each book containing a human main character was coded for the following features: culture/ethnicity, gender, age, place where character lives, time period in which the character lives, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, and language usage. Although we found some promising changes in representation across the decades, overall the main characters in contemporary Caldecott books are predominantly White and show minimal diversity in terms of SES, disability, religion, or language usage. We use the metaphor of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors to reflect on what appears to be a gulf between the students in today's schools that are becoming increasingly diverse and the characters they meet in Caldecott books.

  May 17, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1464   open full text
• Teaching First Graders to Comprehend Complex Texts Through Read‐Alouds.
  Priscilla G. Witte.
  The Reading Teacher. May 09, 2016
  This formative and design study examined how the Complex Text Analysis (CTA) instructional approach provided support for first‐grade students to increase their comprehension of texts of increasing complexity. The students in the diverse class participated in weekly lessons during which fictional texts were read aloud and analyzed in terms of key events, characters' actions and/or feelings, and central message. The responsibility for analyzing the text was gradually released to the students. Analysis of the data indicated that all students made significant progress in the ability to analyze texts of increasing complexity. The CTA approach was enhanced by intentional book selection, extensive scaffolding, and students' use of dialogic discussions. Additional positive effects produced by the CTA approach included increased vocabulary knowledge and improved ability to write stories with clear central messages.

  May 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1467   open full text
• “Really,” “Not Possible,” “I Can't Believe It”: Exploring Informational Text in Literature Circles.
  Diane Barone, Rebecca Barone.
  The Reading Teacher. May 06, 2016
  Fifth graders' interpretations of nonfiction or informational text were explored. Each literature circle group read and responded to informational text. Discoveries included that students' conversations and written responses were closely connected to text and that students created multimodal responses.

  May 06, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1472   open full text
• A Closer Look at a Summer Reading Program: Listening to Students and Parents.
  Catherine Compton‐Lilly, Rachel Caloia, Erin Quast, Kelly McCann.
  The Reading Teacher. May 04, 2016
  While existing research documents the effectiveness of summer reading programs, little is know about how and to what degree children actually read the books that are sent home or how families engage with these texts. We took this opportunity to dive in and explore what happened when books were sent home to low‐income, culturally diverse families. Specifically, my doctoral students and I used home visits and interviews to better understand how students and family members engaged with summer reading books. By the end of the summer, we had a gained an expanded understanding of how our summer reading program both built upon and extended families’ existing literacy practices.

  May 04, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1468   open full text
• Integrating Early Writing Into Science Instruction in Preschool.
  Barbara C. Wheatley, Hope K. Gerde, Sonia Q. Cabell.
  The Reading Teacher. May 02, 2016
  Providing children with early writing opportunities in preschool is a meaningful way to facilitate their language and literacy learning. Young children have an innate curiosity of the natural world around them that motivates their learning; therefore science experiences are logical areas in which to incorporate early writing opportunities. Encouraging preschoolers to write as part of science lessons can enhance their language and literacy skills as well as content knowledge. This article describes the symbiotic relationship between science and writing and provides examples of preschool writing activities within specific science applications. Additionally, children's literature examples are provided to strengthen the science and writing connection.

  May 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1470   open full text
• Academic Language in Early Childhood Classrooms.
  Erica M. Barnes, Jill F. Grifenhagen, David K. Dickinson.
  The Reading Teacher. April 30, 2016
  This article defines academic language by examining the central features of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse function. Examples of each feature are provided, as well as methods of identifying them in oral language and printed text. We describe a yearlong study that found teachers used different types of academic language based on instructional context. Using the results from this study, we present ideas for noticing and teaching academic language through different instructional settings in early childhood classrooms.

  April 30, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1463   open full text
• Beyond The Lorax.
  George L. Boggs, Nance S. Wilson, Robert T. Ackland, Stephen Danna, Kathy B. Grant.
  The Reading Teacher. April 27, 2016
  Five teacher educators discuss children's literature addressing Earth's changing climate. They present tools for evaluating the quality of resources likely to help teachers and students stimulate conceptual and emotional development rather than anxiety or oversimplification. An annotated selection of current books along with a checklist to evaluate children's literature oriented toward issues of climate change is presented to help teachers choose appropriate literature for facilitating students’ development of scientifically, socially, and ecologically responsible thinking and decision‐making.

  April 27, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1462   open full text
• Response to Intervention.
  Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl.
  The Reading Teacher. April 27, 2016
  Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multiple tiered system of instructional interventions that may also serve to identify children with Specific Learning Disabilities (particularly in reading and spelling). This article summarizes the findings of Evaluation of Response to Intervention Practices for Elementary School Reading (Balu, Zhu, Doolittle, Schiller, Jenkins, & Gersten, 2015). It concludes with a list of implications and suggestions for how schools might update and refine their RTI framework based on the federal study's findings.

  April 27, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1457   open full text
• A New Priority.
  Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl.
  The Reading Teacher. April 27, 2016
  Teachers in primary classrooms who are emphasizing high‐level comprehension of complex texts are seeing young children hit comprehension thresholds that were previously only visible among older readers. However, most primary level reading interventions focus on word recognition skills or reading increasingly difficult leveled texts. This article describes the assessment procedures needed to identify the children who need additional support and to diagnose their specific comprehension needs. It also describes research‐validated protocols for improving narrative comprehension and informational text comprehension.

  April 27, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1454   open full text
• Family Literacy Project.
  Belinda Louie, Karlyn Davis‐Welton.
  The Reading Teacher. March 26, 2016
  The purpose of this article is to describe a family literacy project involving a partnership of school‐aged children and their families with in‐service and pre‐service teachers enrolled in a university course on literacy instruction for English language learners. This project consists of family members sharing their stories with their children to be later transformed into bilingual picture books. This project engaged teachers, families, EL learners, and community members to become partners in students’ literacy development. Teachers engaged students from culturally‐ and linguistically‐diverse backgrounds and their families to produce student‐authored and self‐illustrated bilingual picture books in the classroom setting. In this article, we present the instructional process for teachers who are interested in partnering with families to create bilingual books.

  March 26, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1444   open full text
• Key Reading Recovery Strategies to Support Classroom Guided Reading Instruction.
  Jamie R. Lipp, Sara R. Helfrich.
  The Reading Teacher. March 03, 2016
  Effective teachers are continuously striving to improve their instruction. Reading Recovery teachers have detailed and specific literacy training and expertise that can be of great value to classroom teachers, especially in the area of guided reading instruction. This article explores the ways in which key Reading Recovery strategies can be interwoven into primary classroom guided reading instruction to support acceleration. Fluency, supportive book introductions, prompting, and observation and analysis are emphasized throughout.

  March 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1442   open full text
• Oral Reading Fluency Testing.
  Karole Howland, Kathleen Scaler Scott.
  The Reading Teacher. December 21, 2015
  As school districts nationwide have moved toward data driven intervention, oral reading fluency measures have become a prevalent means to monitor progress by assessing the degree to which a child is becoming a fast (and therefore fluent) reader. This article reviews results of a survey of speech‐language pathologists (SLPs) working with children who stutter. The survey found that children on SLP caseloads are being referred for reading services when they do not actually have any trouble with reading fluently, but instead have trouble with any task that involves speaking fluently. The purpose of this article is to outline potential challenges in the use of oral reading fluency measures for children with speech disorders, and to provide practical solutions to those challenges.

  December 21, 2015   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1441   open full text
• Vocabulary and Sentence Structure in Emergent Spanish Literacy.
  Allison Briceño.
  The Reading Teacher. August 17, 2015
  Dual language and bilingual education programs are increasing in number and popularity across the country. However, little information is available on how to teach children to read and write in Spanish. This article explores some of the similarities and differences in vocabulary and sentence structure in Spanish and English and considers the resulting implications for teaching emergent Spanish literacy. Understanding linguistic aspects of both languages enables teachers to better support the development of biliteracy and bilingualism.

  August 17, 2015   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1417   open full text
• Extending Interactive Writing Into Grades 2–5.
  Kate Roth, Joan Dabrowski.
  The Reading Teacher. May 27, 2014
  Interactive writing is an instructional practice widely considered effective and most appropriate for emergent writers. This article asserts that it is a valuable method for more fluent writers in grades 2‐5. It outlines the basic lesson sequence and proposes four key shifts to adapt interactive writing for older, more fluent writers: 1) The lesson sequence is more fluid and dynamic; 2) Elements of Share the Pen are modified; 3) Lessons decrease in frequency while increasing in length; and 4) Teaching points expand and extend around genre. Four universal principles that hold across all grades are further elaborated: 1) Value each step in the lesson; 2) Balance the planned and unplanned teaching opportunities; 3) Make intentional teaching decisions as students develop; and 4) Make explicit links between a whole class lesson and students' own writing. Recommendations for implementing interactive writing in upper‐elementary grades are suggested.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1270   open full text
• Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing in Science and Social Studies.
  Kristine E. Pytash, Denise N. Morgan.
  The Reading Teacher. May 26, 2014
  This article explores how the research‐based practice of using mentor texts can support students' writing within their subject areas. Specifically, this article examines the writing demands of the Common Core Writing Standards and how using mentor texts helps teachers meet these writing standards. We share guiding principles for using mentor texts and explore how to analyze mentor texts in terms of structure and ways with words. Using mentor texts may be a pedagogical practice that content area teachers can find beneficial as they teach writing. Specific examples from social studies and science are provided along with mentor text resources.

  May 26, 2014   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1276   open full text
• Does Disciplinary Literacy Have a Place in Elementary School?
  Cynthia Shanahan, Timothy Shanahan.
  The Reading Teacher. April 28, 2014
  This commentary discusses what disciplinary literacy is and why it is important. It then discusses the ways in which elementary school teachers can infuse aspects of disciplinary literacy into elementary instruction. It argues that the Common Core Standards, even those at the K‐6 level, are providing avenues for preparation for disciplinary literacy.

  April 28, 2014   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1257   open full text
• Talk Less, Listen More.
  Suzanne Porath.
  The Reading Teacher. April 28, 2014
  Individual reading conferences with students are an integral part of the reader's workshop format. Conferring provides the opportunity for students to reveal their thinking and reading processes to the teacher. However, to gain an in‐depth understanding of students, teachers need to focus more on what the student can teach them during the conference rather than how much the teacher can teach the student. The two reading conferences featured in this article illustrate how one teacher evolved from a teacher‐centered instructional style during conferences to a student‐centered style that encouraged the creation of a shared understanding of the student. In simple terms, the teacher learned that by talking less and listening more, she was able to gain deeper insight into her student's learning needs and strengths.

  April 28, 2014   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1266   open full text
• Teaching Young Readers to Navigate a Digital Story When Rules Keep Changing.
  Kristin Javorsky, Guy Trainin.
  The Reading Teacher. April 28, 2014
  As mobile technologies such as tablets and smartphones offer opportunities to view stories in digital format, young readers are faced with new challenges in the reading task. The authors conducted an exploratory study of digital story applications on a mobile reading device and found that digital story applications are capable of taking large departures from paper‐based text in both features and conventions, and moreover, that these differences are currently presented to readers in multiple, sometimes unpredictable ways. We propose that the existence of this variability itself is a key concept that young readers of digital texts must acquire, and suggest several practical strategies for use in the classroom to foster this understanding.

  April 28, 2014   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1259   open full text
• Clickers to the Rescue.
  Katelyn Moratelli, Nancy K. DeJarnette.
  The Reading Teacher. April 28, 2014
  Literacy assessment scores in an urban 5th grade classroom left much to be desired. In this diverse classroom population, typical urban distractions such as poverty, crime, English as a second language, and lack of parental support contribute to extremely low literacy scores. This classroom study examined the effects of implementing clickers, a student response system, in an urban 5th grade literacy class. Each week children were tested according to the district's adopted basal literacy curriculum series. The weekly tests assessed various story elements such as plot, comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary. The classroom teacher implemented a weekly teacher‐led review session prior to testing which incorporated clicker response system technology. This review session engaged students through the use of technology while supporting them on their learned literacy skills. The clicker review sessions proved to be a valuable teaching tool in this urban elementary classroom.

  April 28, 2014   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1261   open full text
• Diagrams, Timelines, And Tables—Oh, My! : Fostering Graphical Literacy.
  Kathryn L. Roberts, Rebecca R. Norman, Nell K. Duke, Paul Morsink, Nicole M. Martin, Jennifer A. Knight.
  The Reading Teacher. May 22, 2013
  The Common Core State Standards place unprecedented emphasis on visual text—appropriately so, as visual components are increasingly ubiquitous in many kinds of text. This shift in emphasis requires substantial changes in our teaching. Concepts of print need to be expanded to include concepts of graphics, and specific graphical devices, such as diagrams, timelines, and tables, need to become the focus of systematic instruction. This article shares research‐based instructional practices that may support children's development in this increasingly important area.

  May 22, 2013   doi: 10.1002/TRTR.1174   open full text
• Using Argument as a Tool for Integrating Science and Literacy.
  Erin Washburn, Andy Cavagnetto.
  The Reading Teacher. May 06, 2013
  The integration of literacy in science education has been supported by both literacy and science researchers and educators. Recent federal initiatives such as the Common Core State Standards and A Framework for K‐12 Science Education have also emphasized the need to integrate literacy and science. However, few tools exist to help educators think about how to integrate best literacy practices into their science lessons. PONG Cycles is an argument‐to‐learn framework for teaching and learning science that can be used to integrate all aspects of literacy (speaking, listening, reading, writing and viewing). An explanation of PONG Cycles, along with implications and suggestions for its use in the upper elementary classroom, is provided.

  May 06, 2013   doi: 10.1002/TRTR.1181   open full text
• One Dy I Kud Not Red A Book Bot Naw I can: One English Learner's Progress.
  Steve Amendum, Emily Amendum, Pamela Almond.
  The Reading Teacher. May 06, 2013
  This article describes a year‐long reading intervention with a first‐grade English‐learner who began the year as a non‐reader. Systematic instruction from a literacy specialist and her classroom teacher included familiar re‐reading, word study, and teacher‐guided reading with carefully matched texts, within the context of English language and vocabulary development. Intervention instruction facilitated this young English learner's grade‐level achievement by the end of the school year. Intervention strategies, intensity, and the student's progress are described.

  May 06, 2013   doi: 10.1002/TRTR.1183   open full text
• How Do I Write…? Scaffolding Preschoolers' Early Writing Skills.
  Sonia Q. Cabell, Laura S. Tortorelli, Hope K. Gerde.
  The Reading Teacher. May 02, 2013
  Providing preschoolers with rich writing experiences can help to lay a foundation for their later reading and writing success. Early writing experiences can be greatly enhanced by how preschool teachers answer young children's questions about writing and engage them in productive writing instruction. With appropriate scaffolding, early writing provides support for children's overall literacy development. Taking an individualized approach to writing instruction allows teachers to capitalize on children's literacy skills at each level of development. This article provides a framework for teachers to evaluate and understand the writing that young children produce and research‐based guidance on how to shape instruction in response to each child's strengths. Scenarios are presented to illustrate the varied child‐centered responses teachers can use to support and develop foundational literacy skills through writing across typical preschool classroom contexts (i.e., centers, journals, morning message).

  May 02, 2013   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1173   open full text
• Learning to Understand Others Through Relationally Oriented Reading.
  Judith Lysaker, Clare Tonge.
  The Reading Teacher. May 02, 2013
  Children with reading difficulties often face social and emotional challenges as well. These struggles may be particularly taxing for these children as classrooms increase in diversity and they encounter fewer people like themselves. In response to these issues, we developed an approach to teaching reading called Relationally Oriented Reading Instruction (RORI) which attempts to build relational capacities through a systematic approach to reading picture books. In this article we present the background and rationale for this approach, describe its implementation, as well as what we learned from that implementation.

  May 02, 2013   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1171   open full text
• Teaching With Interactive Picture E‐Books in Grades K–6.
  Heather Ruetschlin Schugar, Carol A. Smith, Jordan T. Schugar.
  The Reading Teacher. May 02, 2013
  This article presents general implications for using interactive electronic picture books in the classroom. The suggestions are rooted in research with middle grades readers in a tutoring setting and kindergarten through fourth‐grade classroom settings. Specific attention is given toward those features in eBooks that may distract, support, or extend comprehension. The article also addresses ways to familiarize students with multi‐touch tablet devices while encouraging students and teachers to transfer print‐based reading strategies to this new medium. In addition, the authors provide a framework for considering the relationship between interactive features in eBooks and students’ comprehension while establishing the need for more scaffolding of reading instruction when using ebooks.

  May 02, 2013   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1168   open full text
• PLCs In Action: Innovative Teaching for Struggling Grade 3–5 Readers.
  Charna D'Ardenne, Debra G. Barnes, Elaine S. Hightower, Pamela R. Lamason, Mary Mason, Paula C. Patterson, Nancy Stephens, Carolyn E. Wilson, Vickie H. Smith, Karen A. Erickson.
  The Reading Teacher. April 12, 2013
  A group of elementary school reading teachers used their time in a Professional Learning Community to develop a systematic intervention to address the needs of struggling readers in grades 3 to 5. Working as a team, they identified a collection of books that was culturally diverse, high interest, appealing to boys and girls, aligned with curriculum across the grades, and equally representative of fiction and non‐fiction. Using the collection of books as a starting place, the group wrote lessons that addressed decoding, vocabulary development, comprehension strategies, and responding to standardized test question stems. The resulting intervention led to growth in reading level as well as accelerated progress on the state mandated end of grade test in reading. The PLC offered this group of experienced reading teachers a district‐supported framework for working together to create a locally relevant solution for the students they teach.

  April 12, 2013   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1180   open full text
• In The Media: Expanding Students' Experience With Academic Vocabulary.
  Margaret G. McKeown, Amy C. Crosson, Nancy J. Artz, Cheryl Sandora, Isabel L. Beck.
  The Reading Teacher. April 12, 2013
  How can we supplement the limited time available for vocabulary instruction while motivating students to attend to the words they are learning? As a part of an academic word vocabulary intervention, we challenged sixth‐grade students to find their words in the world around them. This activity, In the Media, garnered responses from 51 of the 61 students involved in the intervention. Analysis of students' reading comprehension achievement showed that it was not just high‐achieving students who responded; rather the full range of achievement was represented. Analysis of pretest and posttest data revealed that students who found more words had the highest gains in the final assessment. Examples of students' encounters and where they found them are discussed. These examples suggest that students developed flexible knowledge of their words, as they were able to find them in uses beyond those taught and in related forms that had not been introduced.

  April 12, 2013   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1179   open full text
• Combating “I Hate This Stupid Book!”: Black Males and Critical Literacy.
  Summer Wood, Robin Jocius.
  The Reading Teacher. April 05, 2013
  Too often, instruction designed to improve literacy achievement for black male readers and writers focuses on skill‐based learning, ignoring cultural, social, and personal development. This article calls for the use of critical literacy strategies with African American male students, which can raise expectations for academic achievement by challenging traditional notions of literacy instruction, encouraging cooperative learning, and allowing students to develop a sense of social justice. Three dimensions (the 3 Cs) of critical literacy for young black males are explored: culturally relevant texts, collaboration, and critical conversations. In addition, suggestions and examples are offered to help teachers create critical literacy experiences in which black male elementary students can have the opportunity to become socially conscious text users who see themselves and their cultural histories reflected in texts.

  April 05, 2013   doi: 10.1002/trtr.1177   open full text